THE NOTWIST – Close To The Glass
01. Signals
02 .Close To The Glass
03. Kong
04. Into Another Tune
05. Casino
06. From One Wrong Place To The Next
07. 7-Hour-Drive
08. The Fifth Quarter Of The Globe
09. Run Run Run
10. Steppin’ In
11. Linere
12. They Follow Me
Remaining true to oneself after existing twenty-five years in the fast moving music business? Not many bands can say that from themselves. The German independent band THE NOTWIST is definitely one of them. Close To The Glass – their new record – is different to their former albums, but nevertheless typical THE NOTWIST. Bright independent rock (e.g. Kong, Casino) alternates with their characteristic electronic, magnificent subtle sound-worlds (for example Signals, Close To The Glass). The album arose in their legendary studio in Weilheim, a provincial town in Bavaria, where the band was founded twenty-five years ago. Nonetheless- the sound is everything else than provincial.
Close To The Glass is a harmonious total work of art – mellow, unstressed and diversified. As THE NOTWIST say themselves, there are no ‘songs’ , but rather ‘collages’ on their ninth long-player. Signals is one of them. Multilayer sampled electronic signals are accompanied by Markus Achers typical soft, almost sighing voice. Close To The Glass – the title track – convinces with Achers disembodied doubled voice and diffuse samples – as we’re accustomed from former records. The first extracted single Kong shows that THE NOTWIST are also mass- compatible: it’s a current independent-rock track which features pleasant strings and – different from many other ‘collages’ on the record- Archers falsetto in the foreground. The German band also covers the post-rock genre : 7-Hour-Drive avails itself with typical post-rock guitar-parts. And what else can’t be left aside are the conceptional, detached instrumental pieces: the fifty seconds long The Fifth Quarter Of The Globe in contrast to the almost nine minutes long Lineri. It was – once again – worth the wait.
With their ninth record ‘Close To The Glass’ THE NOTWIST show that they didn’t loose any piece of their miscellaneousness. From restrained post-rock to vast electronic samples – everything is covered.
NBHAP Rating: 4/5